This application claims priority to French Patent Application No. 01 10393 filed on Aug. 2, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to the field of aboveground pools and, more specifically, it relates to improvements made to above-ground pools which can be covered using a removable cover, the pool and the cover being provided with mutual fastening means distributed over their respective perimeters.
In the case of pools of generally round shapexe2x80x94a shape which is that of many models of above-ground pools, whatever the typexe2x80x94the absence of an angular region suitable for making it easy to start putting a cover in place requires the presence of two people, located one on either side of the pool, in order to unroll and fasten the cover.
Moreover, above-ground pools of the type called xe2x80x9cself-supportingxe2x80x9d are provided with an air-inflated chamber which forms the upper edge of the container and which, because of its buoyancy, tensions the flexible sidewall of the container filled with water. Now, apart from the fact that this type of pool is round and has the aforementioned drawback, the presence of the very rounded edge formed by the buoyancy chamber contributes to making the cover slide when starting to fit it onto the pool: for this reason too, the presence of two people proves to be useful, or even essential in order that the cover can be fitted and fastened over the pool.
The aim of the invention is to overcome the drawbacks which have just been mentioned and to provide an improved arrangement for the pool and for the cover which allows the cover to be placed and fastened over the pool by a single person and with a minimum number of manipulations, whatever the shapexe2x80x94even roundxe2x80x94of the pool and even where the pool has a rounded upper edge which is not very useful at least for starting to fit the cover, said improved arrangement moreover having to be structurally as simple as possible and not to involve too great an additional cost.
To these ends, it is proposed a coverable above-ground pool as mentioned in the preamble, wherein, according to the invention:
the pool has an upper edge protruding radially outward from the immediately underlying sidewall,
first fastening means are provided on the cover folded in an arrangement for storage and in a first location on the perimeter of the pool, under said peripheral edge projecting therefrom, to allow the initial attachment of the cover to the pool,
second and third fastening means are provided in a second and a third location respectively, on the perimeter of the cover and on the perimeter of the pool, under the peripheral edge projecting there from, for the intermediate attachment of the cover, these second and third locations being located on either side of the mid-plane of the pool passing through said first location and being located such that a line joining them is located at not more than arm""s length from a fourth location of the pool opposite said first location,
and lacing means are secured to the peripheral edge of the cover with tensioning means located at a fourth location on the perimeter of the cover located approximately on the opposite side from said first fastening location and corresponding with said fourth location of the pool, said tensioning means being suitable for allowing the lacing means engaged under the peripheral edge projecting from the pool to be tightened.
The arrangement according to the invention proves to be particularly beneficial because of the simplification in handling that it affords. This is because, once the folded cover has been attached to the pool at said first location thereof, this first attachment acts as an anchoring point for the cover over the pool: the user then has both hands free to unfold the cover and to start to open it out while following one of the sides of the pool until reaching the second fastening location where he attaches the pulled side of the cover. The user then passes to the other side of the pool where he grabs the other side of the cover which he can pull up to the third fastening location where he attaches the cover. It is then enough for him to pass to the fourth location, located on the side opposite the aforementioned first location, from which he can grab the remaining free edge of the cover and pull it toward him, in order finally to finish fastening it by using the means for tightening the lacing means (in practice, by gripping and tying the ends of the lacing cord) engaged under the projecting edge of the pool.
Thus, the cover may, according to the desired aim of the invention, be quickly put in place by a single person, quickly and without particular difficulty, with a smaller number of maneuvers (in principal four in the context of the procedure mentioned above).
Advantageously, the second and third fastening locations are located approximately symmetrically on either side of a line joining the first and fourth locations on the perimeter of the pool and of the cover.
In a preferred embodiment, the cover is secured to a bag suitable for containing it folded in a storage arrangement and the first fastening means are secured to said bag. Advantageously, the bag has at least one perforated region, located toward its bottom, for the water to flow out. Also in a desirable manner, the bag comprises closure means suitable for keeping it closed while the cover is unfolded over the pool, so as to prevent water (overflow from the pool, rain) falling into the empty gaping bag.
It is also desirable to make sure that the fastening means are simple and without movable pieces, on the one hand, in order to obtain as low a manufacturing cost as possible and, on the other hand, in order to simplify the putting on and taking off of the cover as much as possible. To this end, provision can be made for the fastening means to comprise, on the one hand, T-shaped fingers fastened to the pool or to the cover (or to the bag, respectively) and, on the other hand, eyelets suitable for accommodating said T-shaped fingers and provided on the cover (or on the bag, respectively) or on the pool. In the context of the arrangement of the preferred embodiment indicated above, the first fastening means may comprise at least one T-shaped finger provided on the storage bag at the first location of the folded cover and at least one corresponding eyelet provided at the first location on the perimeter of the pool and the second and third fastening means may comprise eyelets provided at the second and third locations of the respective cover and T-shaped fingers provided at the second and third locations of the perimeter of the pool.
In a beneficial particular application, the arrangements of the invention apply to self-supporting aboveground pools: in this case, the pool is defined peripherally by at least one inflatable flexible chamber and the means for fastening and the means for lacing the unfolded cover are located under this chamber.
Still with the aim of simplifying the task of a user working alone in taking off the cover, provision is made for the cover to have a region, which is permeable to liquids, in the form of a strip lying approximately in a direction joining the first and fourth fastening locations and extending over most of the distance separating said locations, for the purposes of allowing water deposited on the top of the cover used over the pool to pass through. In this case, it is possible to envisage in an advantageous manner that the cover further comprises two regions, which are permeable to liquids, which are located on either side of said region in the form of an elongated strip and over a transversal to the latter approximately in its middle and toward the periphery of the cover, in order to make it easier to remove water retained on the cover.
As already envisaged above, the arrangements of the invention are most particularly applicable to pools which have a periphery of continually concave curved general shape, in particular approximately round.